IMPORTANT: Arete Scholarship Update

Many people in our community applied for the Arete Scholarship in hopes of joining the TCA Family. We just received word the the scholarship fund will not be awarding any new students this year due to changing IRS regulations. However, the team at Arete continues to advocate, in Washington, on behalf of our school and our community. We are hopeful that new regulation will be issued by the IRS in time for next year’s funding. Please see the email from Arete Scholars below. If you have any questions regarding specific cases please contact the Arete Scholarship representative named in the email below. If you have enrollment questions please call the school at (225) 364-3734.

Dear Arete Scholars Applicant,Last month I sent you an email regarding an unexpected IRS issue affecting our scholarship fundraising efforts in Louisiana. (See HERE.) Thank you to the many who responded by contacting the IRS and urging the department to issue prompt guidance on its prior Notice 2018-54. We believe your efforts are making a difference and are confident that the issue will eventually be resolved favorably for the Tuition Donation Credit Program.

Unfortunately, IRS clarification is not likely to come in time for the 2018-19 school year, and most of our large Louisiana donors remain understandably cautious about participating in the program. (For more details on the tax issue, see this article in Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times.)

Given the late date and the need for immediate enrollment decisions, we will not be awarding Arete scholarships to new students for 2018-19.

My team and I understand — and share — your disappointment and remain deeply committed to delivering educational opportunity to all of Louisiana’s children. Last school year, nearly 500 Arete scholars — students like Yancey Young from New Orleans and Kenneth Kyle Gros from Thibodaux — pursued excellence in schools of choice. Yet, many more students need help, and we are working hard to enable more success stories like theirs.

Look for more information later this year regarding applications and eligibility for 2019-20. Meanwhile, if you have questions, please contact Mary Helen Wirwa at [email protected] or Marilyn Hicks at [email protected].